acib’s researcher have a longstanding experience in lipid metabolism and optimizing yeasts such as S. cerevisiae and P. pastoris for various purposes. ‘Humanized’ yeasts containing cholesterol is especially interesting, as it not only expands the scope of yeast as a model organism for medical research, but it also opens new possibilities in biotechnology. For ex‐ ample, the functional expression of mammalian (cholesterol dependent) membrane proteins. These membrane proteins could be investigated/ characterized, but also used for developing a drug-screening assay with drug-binding/activation of the human receptor leading to a colour/light reaction much cheaper, more reliably and with an easier read-out than working with human cells.
Cholesterol is also an interesting precursor. It can be used for synthesis of steroid hormones (glucocorticoids, progestins, estrogen, androgen …) and cholesterol esters. The latter can be used, for example, for artificial vesicles in pharma applications. The biosynthesis of 7-dehydrocholeste‐ rol (7-DHC) and subsequent conversion to vitamin D3 (calciferol) would be another example.